Nerium Dominates the Inc 500 List at #12

If there’s one thing entrepreneurs love, it’s recognition for their success. That’s because it takes a mountain of effort to get anywhere when you’re starting a business from scratch…especially when it’s in the razor-sharp competitive industry of skincare .

That’s why execs, employees, and Brand Partners at Nerium International are living it up this week. Even Nerium reviewers are raving about these guys. They just made the Holy Grail of startup world: the Inc. 500. This is a list of the fastest-growing private companies in the US. There’s also the Inc. 5000 but it’s much better to be within the top 500.

Nerium International not only got themselves on the list, they absolutely nailed that list. Debuting at number twelve, it’s like the four-year old company came from out of nowhere, blasting their way into the skincare scene and shocking the business world while they’re at it.

What’s so shocking about #12?

Consider this: number one on the Inc 500 experienced a mind-boggling 25,485% growth over the last three years. It takes a heck of a lot of growth to figure highly on the Inc 500 because you’re competing with companies that are literally on fire, as far as growth goes. Nerium International displayed a very impressive 16,617% growth over the last three years, which is even more incredible when you think they had only been in business for a mere year when their tremendous growth took hold. The only other small business that compares was Draper-based Utah Home Report, which specializes in Utah real estate and home loans.

Competition in the skincare industry is wicked

Next, consider the industry Nerium operates within: skincare, probably one of the most over-saturated industries on the planet. You’ve got your behemoth mega-corporations like P&G forcing the hand of big-box stores like Walmart and every supermarket from Maine to Hawaii. That makes it pretty tough to pierce into the market. Customers like familiar products so it’s tough to compete with the likes of Oil of Olay, perennial favorite with women of all ages.

On the other hand, you’ve got new crops of boutique skincare lines popping up everywhere, endorsed by celebrities, touted by Dr. Oz (forskolin, much?), or sponsored by upscale boutiques to capture the luxury customer who wants something better than everyone else.

Who is the Nerium consumer?

The mass marketed skin care products we all know, and the luxury brands we all want to afford…where does Nerium fit in? Who cares- they’re #12 on the Inc 500. They’re doing something right!

Seriously, to answer that important question: their customer is exactly that high-end consumer who wants something for her skin that’s not run-of-the-mill, and which provides age-defying ingredients for nothing short of miracle results. The products are nature-based, satisfying the trend for safe, healthy skincare products that don’t cause long-term issues like neurotoxicity and immune system disorders, which is the case for many of the chemical-laden skin care products sold on the market today.

Nerium International sells night cream, day cream, body contour cream, and a mind enhancement formula that protects against age-related mental decline. They’re based in Addison, Texas and employ 299 employees. Their 2014 revenue was $403.1 million.